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We are all going to lose some sleep over the next couple of days and it will be totally worth it.
Wrestle Kingdom, the biggest show of the NJPW year, is back on its traditional January 4th date. But for the first time ever, we will have two nights of Wrestle Kingdom. It leads to twelve title matches, emotional retirement matches, a death match, a possible AEW partnership, and a historic four man tournament to determine the first-ever dual champion in New Japan history. Wrestle Kingdom 14 has so many matches that could steal the show and be among the best matches of 2020. If you are a wrestling fan, it is a dream weekend.
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As we prepare for what should be an unbelievable two days of wrestling, here are the five most anticipated matches of Wrestle Kingdom 14. It was really hard to limit this list to just five matches.
#5. Jushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee
It will be an emotional moment.
Jushin Thunder Liger is the greatest Junior Heavyweight in professional wrestling history. The eleven time Junior Heavyweight Championship has been putting on amazing matches for over thirty five years. How many, if any wrestlers at 54 years old, could put on great matches with Will Ospreay and Minoru Suzuki in 2019? Liger is a legend and he will be truly missed.
The choice for his last ever match is an interesting one. He will be tagging with Naoki Sano against Takahashi and Ryu Lee. Sano, also in his mid-50s, famously had one of the great matches in New Japan history with Liger back in 1990, so the nostalgia will be on full display.
Liger has been a very unselfish performer. He will go out of his way to support Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee, the future of Junior Heavyweight wrestling. It will be a great tag match and an emotionally charged ending for one of the true legends of pro wrestling.
#4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho
It is 'The Painmaker' versus 'The Ace' of New Japan. It will certainly be the highlight of the January 5th show. Chris Jericho certainly seems to enjoy playing the evil heel in New Japan, but didn’t have the most successful 2019 with the company. He lost his only two matches in New Japan to Naito and Okada. Can he regain his momentum in 2020? It would be hard to rebuild his credibility, if he loses to 'The Ace' at Wrestle Kingdom.
Hiroshi Tanahashi started last year great by winning the IWGP Heavyweight title at Wrestle Kingdom 13, but shockingly lost the title a month later to Jay White. The rest of the year featured 'The Ace' losing his chances to get back in the title picture. Is this the beginning of the end of Tanahashi's dominance in New Japan? Add in the wrinkle of an AEW World Championship opportunity if Hiroshi Tanahashi wins and we have an exciting match for Wrestle Kingdom 14.
#3. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
You know it is a great card when this match is the third best match of the two nights.
You have arguably the two best wrestlers in the world in Kota Ibushi and Kazuchika Okada fighting for the Heavyweight Championship. Kota Ibushi had a great year in 2019 since he committed himself to New Japan full-time in early spring. Winning a G1 Climax shows the complete faith the company has in Kota Ibushi, as they really should have for such a gifted competitor.
Kazuchika Okada was his usual amazing self last year. He had an another year of brilliant matches with the likes of SANADA, Kota Ibushi and Will Ospreay in 2019. But the biggest loss was to Kota Ibushi at the G1 Climax. Can Okada keep his amazing title reign going? Will Kota Ibushi keep his incredible streak going? This would be a highly anticipated main event, if the Heavyweight Title wasn’t going to be defended the very next night. Speaking of which….
#2. IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship
It is amazing to think this will be the first time in New Japan history that we will have a double champion. The best part is all four competitors (Jay White, Kota Ibushi, Kazuchida Okada and Tetsuya Naito) have a long history with each other. The fact we don’t know who will be fighting for the title on Sunday makes it all the more amazing.
Okada has carried the company with his amazing matches for years now. He has been IWGP Heavyweight champion for many years, but has never held the Intercontinental Championship. Will he become the first dual champion?
Kota Ibushi is among the greatest wrestlers in the world, and has been on quite the hot streak since winning the G1. He holds victories over all three competitors in 2019. Can he win the double?
Jay White has quickly become one of the great heels in New Japan. It was a shock to see him win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Okada at New Beginning. He would also defeat Tetsuya Naito and Ibushi in 2019. Can the cocky foreign heel carry the two titles? If he does, we will never hear the end of it.
The last one is the sentimental favorite, Naito. He didn’t exactly have the best 2019. It seemed he would also lose the big match. He was the first to declare his desire to be the first dual champion. Can the most popular wrestler in New Japan finally win on the biggest stage at the Tokyo Dome? It will sure be fun to find out.
#1. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
The best match of the year could occur on January 4th.
Will Ospreay was arguably the best wrestler in the world in 2019. He had remarkable matches in New Japan Cup, Best of Super Juniors, and the G1 Climax itself. It is amazing to have any wrestler participate in each of those grueling tournaments, but to put on some of the best matches as well is quite impressive. He is one of the most popular wrestlers in New Japan, but he won’t be the crowd favorite on Saturday night.
Hiromu Takahashi was one of the most exciting wrestlers in the world in 2018. He defeated Will Ospreay at Dominion 2018. Then he broke his neck at the G1 Special in San Francisco. It seemed we may never see the 'Time Bomb' again in the wrestling ring.
But at Power Struggle 2019, Takahashi returned to challenge his old rival for the title at Wrestle Kingdom. The Road to Tokyo Dome showed Takahashi hasn’t missed a beat. Ospreay vs Takahashi should be an amazing match at a unbelievable weekend of shows.
